Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-10-16
m.xo at the Grand.


Mr.. Frank Mayo, SO well known
East and ON the Pacific Coast, Will ap-
pear for the first time in this city
tomorrow evening at the Grand
Opera House. Mr.. Mayo opens in his
very interesting classic play Nordeck.
Frank Mayo was born in Boston,
Mass, April 10, 1899. He came to
California in 1858, then only fourteen
wears of age, and commenced his
theatrical career in 1856, in San Fran
cisco under the management OF Laura
Keene. After the usual vicissitudes
of a struggling youngster, with an un-
swerying determination to succeed in
his profession, In spite OF the tricks
PLAYED upon him by older heads in the
art, it took just six years Tor hlm to
mount from the foot of the ladder to
the top. and on the same boards
where he had appeared as a super,
and with almo.t the same surround
ings. So that he looks back on a rec
ord very unusual, namely: super, a
leading man, a star, with no change
of theater, and almost the same COM
pany in which he struggled as be-
ginner supporting him as star. For
several wears he divided his attention
between the classic and the melo-dra-
matte. Leaving San Francisco in
1865 his first engagement was at the
Boston theater, under II. G. Jarrett's
management. Here he was the stock
star for two seasons and appeared in a
varied round of characters from
Hamlet to Badger" At the close
of his Boston engagement Mr.. Mayo
made a tour of the States, playing
principally Shakespearean characters
until 1872, when he assumed the man
agement of the opera house, Roches-
ter, N. Y, during which season he be-
came the proprietor of Frank Muir
docks exquisite poetic play, Dairy
Crockett. 1t was not an immediate
success, but at the end of six months,
with few alterations and mastery
touches by Frank Mayo, the drama
became, as it richly deserved, the
leading standard American play. For
the next ten years Mr.. Mayo made
"Davy Crockett" speciality, and
played it with artistic success and
great pecuniary profit in every i'm
portant city from Maine to California,
as we'll as in London and Liverpool.
From long association with the char
acter he naturally tired of the monot-
ony of piayinS continuously one part,
and determined to return once more
to his 'first love-" the 'classic," and
now points with pride to his season OF
thirty weeks, iraugurated September
u, 1881, in Providence, where he pro-
duced Shakespeare's grand tragedy OF
"Mackbeth," supported by a company
which has not, for artistic merit or
numbers, been surpassed in this
country. Macbeth was. so success
full that it received eight success
sive representations in six days, and
was followed by Hamlet, ""Othello,"
'Richelieu," and "The Lady of Ly-
ons," all of which were loudly ap-
plauded by the public and by the
critics.
Mr.. Mayo, taking the past season as
his guide, has determined not to be
classed as a speciality actor in the fu-
ture. Three seasons ago he created
the play of "Nordeck," which has
been called "the greatest play of the
day." and has been pronounced sue
cess. This season he has added an
other new play, known as "The Royal
Guard" founded on the diamond incl
dent in Alexander Dumas popular
romance, lies Trois osIuetalres. :"
In the authorship of both of these
plays Mr.. Mayo's colaborateur was
MIR. John G. Wilson. "Nordeck" and
"The Royal Guard" will be the lead
ing features in Mr.. Mayo's repertoire
this seassn.